>> we'll just take a short break, come back and talk about where it all started for you. you're a fascinating guy. you went through hell, i'm not overstating it, when you were young. looking at you now, you seem a man at peace but you may just be a good actor. i know you're a good actor because your new movie is out, "alex cross." here's a clip. >> dr. cross, you're taking this personally. >> about as personal as you took running out of that building with your tail tucked between your legs.

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back now with the one man entertainment empire, tyler

perry. tyler, you weren't called tyler perry as a boy. you were named emmitt perry, jr. you changed your name you said to distance yourself from your father who let's be honest, sounds pretty brutal. used to beat you relentlessly as a young man which must have had an effect on you. >> well, of course it did. but you know, i was able to forgive him in my mid 20s and that changed my life, because what i did was, what i think a lot of people don't realize or understand is that their parents have a story, too. so whatever happened in your life, because of them, you really need to find out the story so that you can understand it. what i found about he and his sister and his brother, they were all found by a white man in rural louisiana in a ditch. he was 2 years old at the time. he was brought to a 14-year-old woman named may to raise. her father was bedridden, very old man, was a slave, and everything that she knew to do to get these children to behave was to beat them.

she would tie them in a potato sack, hang them in the tree and beat them. so that's what he knew. that's what he came from. >> he had been abused. >> he had been abused his entire life. third grade education -- >> how did you find this out? >> i found it out by asking questions finally of him. >> so he told you? >> he told me a lot about it. my aunt told me about it, other people in the town, small town in louisiana where he grew up, told me about the story. so it helped me to understand a lot of who he is, which made it easier for me to let go and forgive him. >> hard to forgive, though. >> it is. it is. but it's very necessary, because what i found is this. this is so true, if you do not forgive, you hold on to this thing inside of you that can change your life and take you in the wrong direction. nine times out of ten, the people that have done things to you are asleep and at peace and you're holding on to it, and it can really literally become sickness in your body and make you physically ill. so i think that forgiveness is beyond important. >> is he still alive, your father? >> he is still alive.

>> what kind of relationship do you have with him? >> we don't speak very much but i am taking care of him. i make sure he has everything he needs. >> you support him. >> absolutely. 100%. as a child, he wasn't a great father, but he was a great provider and he had an incredible work ethic, so he definitely gave me my work ethic. >> do you think despite the way that he manhandled you and beat you and so on, did you feel he loved you? >> no. never felt that. never felt that. i felt very strongly that there was something there and i didn't know what it was, and when i was about 30, my mother told me he never thought that i was his child. >> really. >> so that was another thing i didn't know, which caused a lot of issues as well. >> did you have that out with him? >> i did. about four years ago, i asked why, and all he could tell me through his tears was this is what he said, you don't know what happened to me. which clearly made me stop and go you know what, i don't. but that doesn't justify what you did, but i will take that and i will try and consider it and understand it and make it work for the better of both of us and this relationship as father and son.

is he proud of you? >> i think so, because in any situation he's in tears. every situation that happens he cries. >> guilt, do you think? >> every award or come to one of my shows, and i always thought it was tremendous guilt. >> has he ever said sorry? >> no. he hasn't. he hasn't. >> would you like him to? >> at this point, i don't know if it matters. i really don't know if it matters. because i really have, i really am done with it. so i don't know if it matters if he says i'm sorry. >> by contrast, you had this amazing relationship with your mother who sounds a fabulous woman. >> yeah. >> sadly died a few years ago. tell me about her. >> she was again, born in the same little small town. her mother died when she was 13 years old, she met my father when she was 17. he would visit her every week

and show up in these new cadillacs and buicks and she thought he was rich and would take her to live on his cattle ranch, this is what he told her. they get married, she goes down to new orleans, they end up in a juke joint for 12 hours looking for a place to live. she had no idea. so she left my grandfather and moved in with him and her sole support was my father. so that's all she knew. all she knew was she would go to my aunts and say we're having trouble, he's fighting me, he's hitting me, what should i do and they would say stay with that man, he's good, he's got a job. it was a different time back then. so she was a great woman, wonderful story. she worked at a jewish community center for many years, taking care of little kids there, and was just a beautiful, beautiful soul who only knew how to love. there were so many people, i remember as a boy waking up and there being people in the house all the time who needed a place to stay, who needed food, who needed anything.

she was just a wonderful, wonderful woman. >> what would she make of what happened to you? she must have been stunned or did she quietly think all the time he will make something big of himself? >> you mean of all the success? >> yeah. >> it was remarkable to her because she would always say to me, she always wanted to live like miss chancellor on "the young and the restless" and she never thought she would so the greatest -- the greatest gift in my life was what my audience has given me and that is the opportunity to take care of her and have her live the best life that she could. >> i read a lovely story that she passed a car on the road, a red jaguar and said i would love to have one of those. did you ever get the chance to buy her a red jaguar? >> i did. i was a little boy at the time. we were driving and she said i really like that car and i said when i get big, i'm going to buy you that car. i was in new orleans at the same theater, this is before katrina, and called her up onstage one night, i think it was close to

mother's day and i gave her the keys to the car. that was a great moment. so many tears in the audience, so many tears from her. >> what did she say to you? >> just -- she was speechless. just the thank you and the love. here's a woman who never asked me for a dime. never asked me for a dime. but as a little boy, watching all that she had gone through, i wanted to do everything i could to take care of her, to make sure she had the best life she could and because of my audience, god bless them, i was able to do that. >> after the break, let's talk about money, fame, love and oprah. >> okay. >> maybe they're all linked in some way. >> all together. americans are always ready to work hard for a better future.

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you're a cute little thing. >> get your hands off of me. >> who you think you're talking to, old lady? >> you don't know me. i'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt. now get the hell up from the table. >> i run this prison. i'm big sal. what big sal wants, big sal gets. >> i guess nobody told you that i'm madea. ma to the damn d-e-a. you understand that? >> tyler perry, grimacing there

with a mixture of joy and horror of the character he created and made a huge franchise. an amazing franchise actually came out of that. >> joy and horror. that's just about right, piers. yeah. yeah. >> you ever think when you were young and started treading the boards that one day you would be world famous for cross dressing? >> never in a million years. even the first time i did it i never thought it would last as long as it did. i just thought i saw eddie murphy do it, the brilliant eddie murphy and said okay, i'll try my hand at a female character and i did it. the audience won't let it go. >> oprah had a great line about this which is probably true. she said i think tyler grew up being raised by strong black women. so much of what he does is really in celebration of that. i think that's what madea really is, a compilation of all these strong black women that i know, maybe you do, too, and so the reason it works is because people see themselves. >> sure. sure. yeah. what i found is that as i've traveled the country, that madea isn't just a black woman. there are lots of other madeas

from -- i met a jewish madea, an italian madea. >> it's about strong women. >> absolutely. there were a lot of those women around me. my mother was one. my aunt was another. this woman carried a razor all the time. these women were very strong and you wouldn't want to run into them in a dark alley. >> last year forbes listed you as the highest paid man in entertainment, at $140 million. wow. any comment? >> no. >> you feel comfortable talking about it? >> it drives me in insane. it really drives me insane. i'm grateful for it, i really truly am, i don't necessarily want it printed. i don't think people want their income printed. >> if i owned that kind of money, i would want it printed. >> it's certainly not about showing off. you know what that means, to be honest is this, to make that type of money means that i get to reinvest it in what i love. >> tyler perry's studio.

your motto is a place where even dreams believe. i love that. >> i read this story of david in the bible. but he was a dreamer and he was in prison and the dream kept reminding him to keep going, but the dream itself kept believing, that's where the mantra came from. sometimes things get so bad in your line that your dream has to remind you and keep going. >> what is the best thing about money? >> the best thing in my entire life was being able to support my mother. >> what what are you ridiculously jealous wanting to help people? >> it's very difficult for me to watch the news because i always want to find a way to reach out. >> that's a nice idea.

>> thank you. >> why do you feel awkward talking about it? >> because i just feel that to whom much is given much is required and everybody doesn't have to know all of the other sides of it, whatever you do for people and the kindness show you, isn't necessarily for everyone to know. >> other people i have interviewed that have been successful, there doesn't seem to be any drug related alcohol period, where you have had to go into the betty ford, how is it that you go with superstar fame. >> it's been 100% my faith in god and believing and praying all time. because this entire life, when i look at what people go through and how they go through it and there was a friend of mine and michael jackson and the struggle. i understand what brings you to a point of i need some relief. i completely understand it

because the pressure of the situation can be really difficult and demanding and it doesn't affect you as much as it affects everybody around you, which in turn will affect you. so i understand that. >> that's a very good point. that's a point that people don't see often enough. how can superstars have pressure. it's not a coal miner, it's a very similar port of pressure, because their fame causes all kinds of ripple effects. their family members betray them and it's a very difficult situation for them. >> if i didn't have my faith in god, i wouldn't have it. and the fact that you have your income there for everybody to read, because you're the same person you have always been. couldn't have been more gracious to me. >> great interview, too.

you know, there's not much i can say about her that isn't known. what you see is what you get. >> that's true. >> she is who she is. i mean, i think that's why the oprah winfrey show and her legacy and everything that she's done has been so profound, because it is all authentic and real to the millionth of the inch, it's all very, very real. it comes from her soul and her heart and what she does and wants to do is inspire, uplift and encourage to be able to join forces and go in, because i'm i'm very honored to have had an opportunity to work with her. to be able to join forces and

going in because i'm moving toward having my own network and we get an opportunity to help each other. i have programming and can produce content and she needs programming content and she has experience of starting her own network so it's a great tradeoff and great situation. when we come back, we're going to talk about love, romance, marriage, romance and morgan freeman. >> in that order. ♪

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let me see your hands. let me see your hands! put down the gun. put down the weapon now. do it now! is this what you want to die doing? drop the gun! put your hands behind your back now, sir. [ gun shots ]

>> action hero is tyler perry in the new film "alex cross." big departure for you. never seen you in quite this role. you enjoy playing an action hero? >> i looked at the character's arc which was very interesting to me. one thing that made me say no was morgan freeman. >> that's like replacing sean connery in bond or something. >> the manage played ---the man played god. >> he's my movie god. >> yeah, he played god in a movie. i couldn't -- i'm like -- but as i look at james patterson's description of the physicality and the age and family, and i thought, he's talking about me. so i gave it a second look and i loved the arc that i get to play in this role. i get to go from family man to the brilliant psychologist figuring things out to chasing down a bad guy to this lion being unleashed at the end of the movie. i'm super excited about it. >> you're also super slim, tyler. you've lost 30 pounds? >> yeah, i've lost 30 pounds.

>> how did tyler perry drop 30 pounds? how did you do it? >> mostly i worked with the trainers, anthony goldston, great guy. there's a book that really helps with prayer and working out. >> isn't it basically that you just don't eat as much. >> you don't eat as much and you move a lot more. i was working out and running five miles. this guy eric in atlanta who worked with me was amazing at -- i did it for fife minutes and i couldn't get off the floor, i could not get off the floor. but it amazing to get you to really shed the pounds. >> let's talk about love, tyler. >> no. >> let me ask that again. let's talk about love, tyler. >> okay. fine. let's talk about love. >> how many times have you been properly in love in your life? >> what does that mean? what does that mean? >> that's what oprah said to me. i said the type that makes your heart ache or break. that's what it means.

that kind of love. >> if i told you the truth, i would get in trouble. >> why? >> because -- so alex cross is an amazing movie. >> tyler, tyler. i'm not letting you off the hook that easily. >> all right. once. >> really. >> once. yeah. yeah. >> and what went wrong? >> i think we were both very young. well, we were mid 30s. it was a very scary time in my life. i was just coming into success. i had spent 28 years of my life being very unhappy and i was very afraid of it. i was very afraid of the feeling of not being able to know if she loved me the way that i loved her. and the control i think scared me. >> was it in the end your decision to walk away? >> yes. it was.

>> do you regret that? >> no, i don't. >> you thought it was the right thing? >> yeah, because we both were in a place where -- i just realized i should not have said this because -- i should not have said this. >> why? why shouldn't you have said it? >> because i said too much. now she'll figure it out. yeah. >> what will she figure out? she knows what happened. >> why don't you ask another question. why don't you ask another question. >> this is a fascinating side to you because you're being so nice about it and so honest. >> okay. all right. so what do you want to talk about now? >> i suppose the obvious question after that is do you hope to have that again in your life? you're so busy, so successful -- >> that's part of the reason that i'm so busy. there's a woman that i'm seeing now that i love very very much. it's a different kind of love but i love her very, very much. >> now i'm beginning to work out why you dug yourself into a hole. >> now you see me trying to dig myself out of the hole.

>> yes, i did. >> what i'm trying to do at this point is just enjoy it all. i'm not ready to settle down, not ready to get married, not ready to be in a situation where i have a commitment. not ready for that. especially after that situation. >> i see. so you went through a very deep experience and you just want to be sure next time that it's right. >> what's the rush? >> yeah. >> i'm a guy. i'm 43. >> don't you want little tylers running around? >> yeah. i want that more than i want to be married, though. i have to find a way where i'm okay with that happening. >> i wish you luck. there's no hurry. you can do what you like. you probably have a queue -- you call them lines here. you have a line probably the length of manhattan of potential suitors, i would imagine. >> i appreciate that. moving on to something else? thank you so much. wow. all right. >> do you want a glass of water? >> in no, it's all good. i need a shot of vodka, that's what i need at this point. >> kim kardashian, is to

marriage counseling what better than -- >> i wrote a film that is coming out in march and it's called a marriage counselor. it's a cautionary tale about making bad decisions in relationships. i had no idea she was going through a divorce. >> did you know who she was? >> i had heard of her, but i didn't know all that she had done. but what i know about her is this, she's a sweet girl, she came in and did a great job, she was very professional. >> there are millions of people who look up to the kardashians

and i think it's very good to have a cautionary tale about making bad decisions, so if fans of her are watching and coming in, then she's doing a great job and i'm doing a great job of putting on the movie. >> she has 5 million followers on twitter. what she is is very hard working and beautiful. let's take a break and come back and talk about a fabulously talented one, whitney houston. a tragic loss, and i want to know, you were a friend of herself and you tried to help her. and many other people weren't successful. 0ñ@ñfñ

my special guest tyler perry. it's been a fascinating experience talking to you, you've been an honest, open book. >> i don't mind being honest, i

just don't want to share everything. >> we touched on whitney houston, a friend of yours. you have been quite candid about trying to help her. you rang her or felt compelled to ring her on the night that michael jackson died. >> yeah. >> because they were similar age, similar kind of problems. you realized she may be going through turmoil over that news. tell me about that. >> it was -- i haven't talked about it publicly, actually. i'm surprised that you know that. how do you know that? >> i know everything, tyler. >> i called her that night. i had been trying to get her that day, and i called her that night and she had donny hathaway's "a song for you" blasting in the background. we talked for a while and she was really broken up by his death. i didn't know if she was thinking about herself but i was trying desperately to get her to let me come over to the house and let me sit with her to make sure she was okay. whitney in true fashion after we

trying for five or different times, i'm a mother, a woman, and i'm single and you're not coming over to my house in the middle of the night in the way that only she could. but it's beyond tragic, and i was so disgusted. i must tell you, i was so disgusted at the media and the way they handled her death. it was so blatantly disrespectful. this is what i mean about fame and even in death, trying to get her -- just her body from the morgue to the plane. >> you supplied the plane, didn't you? >> i did. and there was -- it was beyond awful. i tell you, we tried to send a hearst as a decoy. they found out we had the body in a van, and there are paparazzi 50 deep following the van. moved the plane in the hangar, closed the door, bring the van in. one person, one of the hired

drivers is trying to take pictures of her putting her body on the plane. it was beyond disrespectful for her family and everyone else, and i understand she was a superstar, but she didn't deserve to be treated that way in the media toward the end, you know? and they asked me to come down to the beverly hilton and walking into that hotel room and seeing -- it was so bizarre. i'm thinking these people cannot know she has died. there's a party going on. this can't be true. i go upstairs to the floor and her family is there. they're all in tears, and i'm in the room with them, and the coroner and the police are three doors down from where we are, and i'm looking at the water on the table as the family is breaking down. it's vibrating from the bass below. i think what is this? what is this that this woman's life is not worth a moment of silence to so many people when she's meant so much? so it was beyond hurtful in many ways. >> very sad, indeed.

in "alex cross" your new movie -- >> let's talk about something else. >> gun violence is a big thing of mine on this show. i come from a country -- a continent where it doesn't really exist in the same form it does here. there's kind of a weird relationship between an american and his or her gun. do you think that the candidates should be doing more to bring in tougher gun control? >> absolutely. i completely 100% think so. anytime somebody can walk into a movie theater and do something like, that absolutely, there should be more done for gun control, and you're speaking to a kid who grew up in the inner city where there were drive-by shootings all the time, friends who were murdered, so absolutely. >> kasim reed, the mayor of atlanta, came on the show last week, and he's a big proponent of gun control, too. he's in a city where it's obviously rife, chicago, washington, d.c., and others.

what needs to be done? who is going to take on the gun lobby here? >> yeah. you're asking the wrong person. you're asking the wrong person because i don't know enough about the laws to speak in an educated voice on it. but i think it should start with just tougher screening to own guns. maybe there should be a psychological profile, not just, you know, criminal, but a psychological profile that's filled out in order to be able to own a gun. >> i totally agree. >> yeah. >> terrific movie, very strange to see you in that kind of movie. i wasn't expecting it, really enjoyed it. i could see you as a new james bond. >> you won't see me as james bond. >> why not? the first black bond? >> it should be will smith. this is it, buddy. i'm not getting any skinnier. >> final question, if you could relive one moment in your life

before you died, and i had that power to give you, what would you choose? >> there is one moment, and i'll probably regret it for my entire life. my mother was on her deathbed, and she told me, she said, i just want it all to be over, and i got so upset, i couldn't hear it. and i wish i had listened to what she had to say because i felt that in that moment there was so much she wanted to share with me and had i been able to hold myself still and listen, i probably would have had a lot more of my life's questions answered. >> that's a very poignant thing. >> yeah. >> tyler, it's been a real pleasure. please come back again sooner than 20 months or whatever it was it took me to get you. best luck with the movie. >> thank you very much. >> it opens in theaters this weekend "alex cross" terrific film. best of luck. >> thank you very much. >> good to see you.

>> and you as well. >> tyler perry. we'll be right back. so what do you think? basic.

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>> translator: two years after the earthquake, the situation is still the same. the people are still under the tents. they don't have electricity. there is no security where they sleep. they are getting raped. in haiti things are very difficult. before the earthquake, there were rapes happening. now, i can say it is total disorder. adults are not spared, mothers are not spared, even baby are not spared. my name is malya. i am a victim of sexual

violence. i am on a mission to eradicate this issue so that other haitian women do not fall victim. we do awareness in the camps. we were working in 22 camps after the earthquake. now we are trying to work in others. we tell people to come out of silence, do not be afraid to say that you have been victimized. we offer psychological and legal support. we have a call center. we accompany the victim to the hospital, and we have a safehouse program. for me the first thing is justice that i want. i was a victim, and i did not find justice. but i know i will get it for other women that are victims. we have to fight so we can say what s